The Simple Pleasures

Sometimes, it seems that life its own self is just a little too complicated. Email, smart phones, schedules, priorities, social networking sites. Don’t eat that, it causes cancer. Eat this, it makes your eyesight better and your sexual prowess goes to a higher level.

There are times, I think, when we need to focus our attention on the simple pleasures. Those things that are uncomplicated, easy, painless. They generally don’t require a lot of thought, allowing a person to just put the brain in neutral and drift a little bit outside of the overwhelming flow that modern life in this year of Our Lord 2010 sucks us into.

Reading a Book
Not a Kindle, not an e-book, not a PDF file, and not an audio book in MP3. A genuine bound book made of paper. A book, even a paperback, has weight, bulk. You know you have something real, something tangible, in your hands. The simple act of picking up a bound book, finding a comfortable place to kick back, turn some pages, and escape into another world. Letting the words of the author paint a picture in your mind. I’m a big fan of reading, and have been since I was in my early 20’s. The nice thing about books is you can read one, put it down for a couple of years, then go back and reread it again, and most of the time the words will refresh themselves in your brain.

Junk Food
There is comfort in things that are familiar and not necessarily good for us. Sometimes they bring back a memory of times past. Other times, they’re just a simple indulgence, something almost but not quite naughty. My wife and I are big fans of Little Debbie Fudge Brownies, which are our go-to junk at the moment.

Taking a Shit/Defecation (also known as “Dropping a Deuce”)
Big fan of this particular natural act. One of the things I used to LOVE doing was to sit on the toilet, drop some social commentary, read the newspaper and smoke. Since my wife banned smoking in our apartment, I cannot do this anymore. Still, for a few moments you’re by yourself, contemplating thoughts deep or trivial. That and the fact that it feels really good to “drop some kids off at the pool.”

Music in the Car
A great song comes on the radio, and suddenly you feel the need to sing along. Even if the noise coming out of your face is horrible to most people and small animals, you enjoy it. Jamming down the road, you can feel your heart getting lighter, like all of your troubles have disappeared, if only for a few brief moments. This morning as I passed by Hagatna Bay, me and Bruce Springsteen were deeply involved in “Thunder Road”.

The Laughter of Loved Ones
All three women in my life (my insanely cool daughter, my wife, and my grand daughter) all have really incredible laughs. When they laugh, it’s like music to me, especially if I am the cause of the laughter. My daughter’s laughter is like the best drug ever made.

These are all simple things that really don’t mean a hell of a lot in the overall scheme of life, but I think it’s the simple things that give each of us a place to go to when the world is going insane and/or shitting all over us. We should enjoy these things for what they are and take stock in them every now and then.